One of the biggest news stories last week was that of Yue Yue, a 2-year-old Chinese girl who was run over by a car twice and then ignored by at least 18 passers-by while she lay on the ground suffering from her injuries. Yue Yue was finally moved to the roadside by a passer-by, but the damage was already done: she died of her injuries several days later. Chinese authorities have since arrested two people in connection with her death.

This disheartening story has spurred Chinese lawmakers to debate the possibility of enacting a law to punish passers-by who do not help people in obvious trouble. What are proponents of this law basing their arguments on? Take a look:

“Many laws, including forbidding drunken driving, in China have been passed after high-profile individual cases, and now is the right time to legislate against refusing to help people,” said Zhu Yongping, a lawyer at Datong Law Firm. “If we can use laws to guide our morality and ethics, our morals might not become worse.”

Nie Lize, an associate professor at Sun Yat-sen University, was also in favor of such a law. “It is necessary to legislate because the morals of Chinese people are getting lower,” Nie said.